While the masses
are being distracted with shortage of avian flu
vaccinations,
the White House
keeps on experimenting.
Smallpox Drill Held at White House Complex
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By DEB RIECHMANN Associated Press
Writer
March 18,2006 | WASHINGTON -- Cabinet
secretaries participated in a drill Saturday that simulated a smallpox attack
as the government tested plans to counter the potential use of bio-weapons by
terrorists.
"The purpose of this exercise, which was
only a drill, was to address the federal government's response to a potential
smallpox attack," said Dana Perino, a White House spokeswoman. "While there's
concern, we do not have any concern that a smallpox attack is
imminent."
The World Health Organization reported
the disease was eradicated in 1980. Still, there are fears that smallpox could
be used by terrorists as a biological weapon.
The United States ended routine childhood
vaccination against smallpox in 1971. After the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist
attacks, however, the Bush administration ordered some military personnel
vaccinated and recommended shots for front-line health care
workers.
The government has stockpiled enough
smallpox vaccine for everyone in the U.S., Perino said. The government also
has helped develop a new vaccine, which is in clinical trials, that does not
appear to have the same potential negative side effects as the earlier one,
she said.
In 2004, President Bush signed an order
directing government agencies to help protect the country from an attack with
biological agents. A revised version had 59 instructions for agencies to
improve the nation's defenses, including improving the Bio-watch system of
sensors that continuously monitor and analyze the air in 31
cities.
Officials from various government
agencies, including Centers of Disease Control Director Dr. Julie Gerberding,
participated in the four-hour exercise to identify gaps in local and state
preparedness plans and fine-tune the federal government's
response.
Members of the Cabinet who participated
were: Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, Health and Human Services
Secretary Mike Leavitt, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns, Transportation
Secretary Norman Y. Mineta and Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim
Nicholson.
Bush, who was spending the weekend at the
Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland, did not take part in the drill,
which was held in a conference room at the Eisenhower Executive Office
Building next to the White House.
Saturday's simulation was the second
drill to check the nation's readiness for catastrophic attacks. Federal
officials said that a similar rehearsal in December for pandemic flu showed
that saving lives and containing economic damage would require more planning
in local communities and increased production of vaccines and
medications.
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